Descent
by TheGrahamShow
Summary: From the point-of-view of an OC, however most characters in the VA world will be main characters in this story as well. When mysterious trouble strikes the Court, Queen Vasilisa and her guardians return to St. Vladmir's for an extended period of time. Here, we meet Violet, a young dhampir girl, who holds one of Rose's deepest secrets.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

Headmistress Kirova paced back and forth, her arms locked in a tight ball behind her back. She was talking...I mean, her mouth was moving, but I wasn't hearing her.

"Disgrace!...Guardians...Queen...blah, blah, blah." I seemed to pick up every few words.

From across the room, I could see him. Petya. His tall frame was bent crookedly in his seat, his blue eyes were cast downward in a reverent stare. God, he was beautiful. As I glanced around the room, I noticed that everyone had the same posture as Petya. _Maybe Kirova is saying something important._ I thought to myself.

Alright, I know what you're thinking. "You're a dhampir, Vi. You're going to be a guardian someday, and you have the attention span of a grape fruit." And you would be right. I was awful at staying focused on one thing for a period of time. A sharp pain hit my side and I saw Sylvie glaring at me. Boy, she knew me well. "Pay attention." she mouthed, her fangs only showing slightly as she gritted her teeth. I rolled my eyes.

"...Utmost importance that you are on your best behavior these next few weeks, understood?" Kirova was saying. "Queen Vasilisa may be young, but she is your queen and your elder. I expect you treat her AND her guardians as so."

Sylvie let out a tiny squeal. Queen Vasilisa was bringing her two guardians. That meant Guardian Belikov would be here. Sylvie knew that Guardian Belikov was in a serious relationship, but that didn't stop her from dreaming about him constantly.

"Please be aware of how you conduct yourselves while they are here, and the next three weeks will go by swiftly and painlessly."

After the meeting, I caught up with Sylvie and Toby sitting in the commons. As usual, Sylvie was slumped over some book. Toby sat next to her, scanning the room. Was I the only dhampir who wasn't constantly doing that? I sat down in the chair next to him and his face immediately lit up, "Here she is, the woman of the hour." He grinned at me.

Oh yeah_...that._ "Toby, you're going to have to stop calling me that. I don't want to get in trouble." Nobody was supposed to know that _I _was the one that pulled the fire alarm yesterday. In fact, I figured that was the reason Kirova called us for a meeting in the first place. "I had to get out of Guardian Alto's exam somehow."

"She forgot to study." Sylvie giggled, but went back to reading when I shot her the death glare.

"Lucky for you, you're naturally a good fighter. You shouldn't completely bomb Alto's class." Toby snorted, leaning back in his chair.

Toby and Sylvie were half-siblings. Toby's dhampir mother was part of an extramarital affair with Sylvie's father, which explained why Toby was a dhampir and Sylvie was a Moroi. In fact, this situation was quite common in our world. However, in most cases, relationships like this would never be discussed, but Sylvie and Toby were different. They were both loners before they found each other. I guess it's nice to have someone else to be alone with.

Sylvie set down her book, and glanced up at the clock hanging on the wall. "Only two more hours before _they _get here." I groaned, "Why is everyone so excited about this?"

"Well," Toby began, logically, "She _is_ the queen..."

Sylvie added, "And Dimitri _is _a hunk-sicle."

"But aren't they coming on bad terms?" I could vaguely remember Kirova going on about why exactly the queen was visiting St. Vladmir's. Something about...the food service?

"Yeah...Something about royal financial stuff." Sylvie whispered, "I think they're trying to keep us out of the loop as much as possible, what with Qualifying exams coming up."

"They probably don't want us stressing over something that doesn't really concern us." Toby leaned inward, "I've heard that Guardian Hathaway AND Guardian Belikov are going to help with this years Qualifying Exams. Can you imagine? Having to fight against those two?"

"That's terrifying!" Sylvie shivered thinking about what it would be like to fight the great Rose Hathaway.

I shivered as well, but for an entirely different reason.

When the time came, all St. Vladmir's students lined the corridor waiting for the arrival of the Queen. Quiet whispered filled the hall as Moroi and dhampir alike waited in anticipation. At last, the door swung open, and in walked a young Moroi boy, "Announcing the arrival of Queen Vasilisa Dragomir, and Guardians Belikov and Hathaway." A collective sigh of awe filled the room as the Queen entered.

She was much more regal than I had ever remembered her looking before. When she went to school here, I had only seen her a handful of times because she was older than I was. But she seemed so much more mature now. Experienced. Her silvery, blonde hair was swept back in a bun, just a few delicate tendrils falling around her face. Her body was poised and calm as she demurely nodded towards the guardians that had once been her teachers.

Walking closely behind her were two familiar faces. Dimitri Belikov. Boy, had time done him justice. For someone pushing thirty, he hardly looked a day over twenty. His wardrobe hadn't seemed to change since he had left the academy. I took not of the dilapidated, old duster he still wore.

Standing closely behind was _her._ One of the most famous guardians of our time: Rose Hathaway. She looked...old. Well, maybe not _old._ She was only in her twenties, but she seemed so much more calm than I remembered. Seeing as I was one of the only female dhampirs at St. Vladmir's, I should've been awestruck at the sight of her. But, when her steady eyes scanned over the room and locked with mine, I felt my stomach churn.

The moment lasted a second before I broke the gaze. Queen Vasilisa spoke, "Thank you so much for extending the invitation to stay here. I pray that while we are present, the students will not be shy with myself, Guardians Belikov and Hathaway, and Christian Ozera." Only then did I notice a handsome, Moroi man standing by her side. The Queen continued, "We were all students not that long ago." Without another word, Vasilisa turned to Headmistress Kirova and was escorted out the door into where, I assumed, they would be living.

Sylvie's eyes were wide with amazement. "Did you see that?"

"See what?" I asked. Once again, I guess had spaced out. "What are you talking about?"

"Guardian Hathaway. She was staring at you the entire time." Sylvie whispered.

"No she wasn't" I scoffed, but as I glanced around the room I saw all my classmates staring at me. Including Petya. On a normal day, this wouldn't have been so bad. But today...

I felt my face flush. And excused myself from my friends.

I walked around outside. The chill of Montana air helped clear my head. _Calm down, Violet. Nobody knows. You're overreacting, just like the fire alarm thing._ I kept telling myself. But the sound of footsteps caught me off guard.

"Hey." She said, running a hand through her dark brown ponytail.

Looking at her eye to eye, I finally saw what everyone else had noticed earlier. Her brown eyes looked like mine, her thick hair was a longer version of my own...

Rose Hathaway.

I spoke through tight lips, attempting to keep my voice low, "Hey sis." I replied.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

I could see the disapproval on her face for a millisecond. Okay, so we weren't _exactly _sisters. We shared the same father. A man I had never met nor knew the name of. In fact, I had never really believed that Rose and I were actually half-sisters. My mother had always told me...but, I don't know. It seemed unrealistic.

I had had conversations with Rose before. Small ones. She had infrequently made her way to the other side of campus to visit a young Moroi girl I was acquaintances with. But this was the first time I had spoken to Rose since she left the Academy.

"It's after hours," she spoke coldly, "You should be inside."

"I'll go inside when I'm ready." I responded, "Shouldn't _you_ be inside with the Queen?"

"I'll go inside when I'm ready." She retorted.

I collapsed on a bench with a sigh, at last realizing just how cold my body was. Goosebumps covered my arms. Rose sat down next to me. "How's that for a sense of humor?" I jested, "Rose and Violet...Our dad must be clever."

"Clever. Ass. To-MAY-to. To-MAH-to." Rose breathed.

I felt my heart leap. She knew who he was. "Yeah?"

Rose sighed, "I didn't mean that. He's a good guy...Really." I knew there was no point in asking any further questions about my family tree. I could see it on Rose's face; she wouldn't reveal much more. Plus, she seemed distraught.

But even with her face creased in a frown, she was beautiful. Not like me, I was interesting. But Rose...Every person in the world could agree with me. Even in drab guardian clothes Rose Hathaway was stunning. I felt myself wither up. She was intimidating. She turned to face me, "I just wanted to say...Well, I want you to know that I know now. About...us. No one else does. Not even Lissa." She called the Queen Lissa. Dear god...

"Not even Dimitri. The world can't handle another Rose Hathaway." She joked, "Let's keep it that way for now, alright?"

"Sure." I responded, as withdrawn as possible.

"I'm here on business. You're here to learn." She added

"Yep."

She let out a sigh, patted me on my back, and stood up. "Good. I'm sure I'll see you around."

"I bet." The words came out cold and harsh, they took her back for a second. Without another word, she nodded and swiftly made her way inside. I felt whatever strength I had left in me shrivel up. I don't know what I expected. A happy reunion? A celebration? A hug? Any of those things seemed more appropriate than what I was given. Why?! I didn't understand why she thought it was so necessary to keep me a secret. But then again, who was I to the Great Rosemarie Hathaway? A fly. A nobody. A girl that pulls the fire alarm to get out of exams.

I made my way back up to my room in silence. My head was reeling with thoughts. Nobody could know about Rose and I. It was a secret. Our secret. Something about that made me smirk a bit. I had leverage on her. Her secret was in my custody. Maybe she wasn't as intimidating as I had thought.

I stayed up all night tossing and turning over what had happened with Rose. I kept replaying the conversation in my head. Eventually, the memory had been glossed into a perfect scene in my mind. Rose started with, "You can't tell anyone we're related." I responded with, "Make me."

Then the fighting began. I took a roundhouse kick in the stomach, but rebounded quickly with a deafening blow to Rose's head. She stumbled backwards, her ears ringing. Without missing a beat, I gave her an uppercut to her jaw that sent her flying, and landed on her back. She was defeated. I snapped, "Next time think before you mess with me."

So, it wasn't _exactly _what had actually occurred but as far as I was concerned, it was the only way I would relive the experience. I turned on my side to glance at the alarm clock on my desk. I had four hours until it was sociably acceptable to head down to the cafeteria. Giving up on sleep all together, I paced around my room. Clothes littered the ground in piles that came up as far as my shin. Empty bottles of pop, chip bags, and crumpled pieces of homework assignments added a certain _je ne sais quoi _to the overall ambiance of the room. From where I stood, I could clearly see through the open bathroom door. On the counter sat a box of hair dye I had bought for a Halloween party, but got too chicken to actually use. I remembered Sylvie saying, "You're going to regret dyeing your hair, Vi. It's so pretty and natural! You can't do that to yourself."

I looked at myself in the mirror that stood adjacent to my bed. Immediately, my mind flashed to earlier in the corridor. All the students that wouldn't stop staring at me because I looked so much like Rose... "_She_ looks like _me._" I whispered, but found myself walking to the bathroom, opening the box of "Intense Red" hair dye, and scanning the instructions for proper use.

Despite it being my first time to dye my hair, the color came out rich and luscious. My hair fell in soft, feathery, red locks that seemed to frame my face and highlight my eyes perfectly. "Take _that _Rose." I sighed and collapsed backwards on my bed. _Too bad breakfast is still three hours away,_ I thought. _This is about as good as I'll ever look._


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

"Violet! Could you please try improving what's _inside _your head?" Guardian Alto chided. I rubbed my eyes, trying to clear my head. I guess I must have dozed off while he was talking. "Yes sir."

I responded sleepily. I hadn't slept at all the night before and my lack of rest had come back with a vengeance. I ran my fingers through my now-red hair and shook my head furiously. When I looked down, I noticed a small piece of paper meticulously folded, and placed on my desk . I opened it and immediately recognized Toby's neat penmanship, "You OK?" It read.

I turned to look at my friend who sat a few desks away from me. His eyes looked concerned and his brow was furrowed in a tight line. I nodded at him and attempted a friendly smile. "Sleepy." I mouthed. I may have been a slacker, but even Toby knew that I wasn't stupid enough to fall asleep in Guardian Alto's class. It was just my luck that today was the one day where we weren't sparring. I was sure I could've stayed awake for that.

After class Toby caught up with me, "How you feeling, Vi?" He asked, his brown eyes examining every detail of me. "Fine. I caught some z's during Alto's lecture about concentration, so I think I'll be okay for the rest of the day." I joked. But Toby's face remained concerned. "What's with the hair?" Oh...I had forgot about that.

"Just thought I'd try something new. Do you like it?" I tried to keep my voice as light as possible.

"Yeah. It suits you. You're personality, I mean. It's just...I don't know, it seems so random. Sylvie hasn't seen it yet, I suppose?"

"Nope." I knew Sylvie would flip out once she saw what I did. She always envied my dark hair. Which was slightly ironic since I had always envied her wickedly straight blonde hair. Even so, I knew that hell would break loose once she saw what I had done. I had already received mixed reviews from my fellow classmates. Mostly stares, the occasional smirk or nod, but nothing too big.

I had begun to think that dyeing my hair was stupid, and that I should just change it back. I had done it out of outrage and, maybe I had slightly overreacted. As I made my way to the gym, I had almost completely settled on the idea that red was not my color after all. And then I ran into Petya.

Now, Petya and I weren't great friends. I mean, he was popular, royal-a Szelsky, smart, and good-looking. And I was, well...me. But Petya was one of those guys who was friendly to everyone. Even to a loser dhampir with only two real friends to her name. His white smile broadened as he saw me, "Hi Violet!" I lost my train-of-thought. He had caught me off-guard. All that came out was, "Hynegg." Luckily, he laughed.  
"On your way to the gym?"

I nodded. Why wasn't my brain forming normal people words?!

"Well, have fun!" He smiled and began to walk away, but turned back to add, "Oh! I really like your hair. It suits you."

So it was decided, I was keeping my hair.

Inside the gym, dhampirs were already hard at work. As the qualifying exams were just around the corner, it was pertinent that all of us made sure we were in top physical condition. I made my way to the weights room, grabbed a pair of two-pounds, and headed back outside to run the track. Now, for a dhampir like me running five miles wasn't that hard, but I knew that kind of stamina wouldn't help me when the qualifying exams came along. Most dhampirs ran seven to ten miles every day. And while I may be lazy, even I can be driven enough to want to pass my exams. I mean, how else could I become a guardian?

At about the five and a half mile mark, I felt my body start to shut down. My fellow classmates started to lap me as I slowed down my run into a light jog. From behind me, I could hear the the footsteps of a person. They sped up so that he or she was closely behind me, and then slowed down so that they weren't passing me. I whirled around expecting to see Toby or one of my acquaintances, but was shocked to see a face I had grown mildly familiar with in the past 48 hours.

"Do you want to pass me?" I asked Guardian Belikov. He only shook his head and switched lanes so that we were running side-by-side.

In my peripheral I could make out Dimitri's features. He was tall for a dhampir. His body seemed to loom over me. I could also vaguely make out his other features: his long hair, his tan skin, his big hands. I could see why Rose liked him so much. He was nice-looking. They would make pretty babies. At that point I realized I was no longer glancing at him from the corner of my eye, but flat out staring at him. Trying not to be rude, I spoke, "I'm Violet."

"I know." He said, his voice was deep, and coated in a Russian accent.

For a brief second I feared that he knew about me and Rose, but I quickly dismissed it when he added, "I saw you in Guardian Alto's class this morning." Shit. Was he there? Why didn't I remember seeing him? Oh yeah... "Oh...Yeah, sorry 'bout that." I thought for sure he would start lecturing me on staying focused, or being a guardian, or whatever. But instead he let out a little chuckle, "I assume you had a good reason for sleeping in class." I could've lied, I could've made up a story about how my pet bunny died and I was too torn up to sleep, but instead I just went, "No. Not really." I think my answer caught him off-guard because he let out a little snort. "You have potential. I can tell. Try to get more sleep and maybe you'll shock yourself with improvement." Without another word, he sped up his pace and passed me.

Maybe I should sleep more.

Once I was done running, and sufficiently covered in sweat, I went back inside. I had decided to take Dimitri's advice and get some sleep. As I was climbing the stairs back up to the living quarters, I passed by a door that was slightly cracked open. Not that this was unusual or anything, but I came to a halt when I heard a familiar voice. "This wasn't supposed to happen." Rose said. Through the crack of the open door I could see her pacing back and forth. "No one at Court was supposed to know where we were going. We're endangering Lissa." I heard someone let out a sigh, "It'll be alright, Roza." Dimitri began, "Lissa is safe here. We are safe here."

I heard Rose scoff, "That's what we thought last time..." Her voice trailed off, and for the first time ever I saw the great Rose Hathaway look...sad. But the moment quickly passed and Rose's face hardened again, "We should leave."

Dimitri laughed, "How many times have you ran away from here again?"

I saw Rose's face lighten up a bit. She let out a sigh, and went to sit on the bed next to Dimitri, "You're right...I'm overreacting." Her face softened more as she leaned into him, "Thank god I have you." She leaned in even more and kissed him on the cheek. I took that as my cue to peace out. As I quietly backed up, and felt myself run into a body. I swiveled around silently, prepared to face the consequences of spying, and stood face-to-face with the Queen.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

I felt my heart drop to my knees. I was in for it for sure. I could almost hear Kirova's voice chastising me...again. I couldn't afford to get in trouble for the zillionth time, especially this close to qualifying exams. But what could I do? Run? She was the _Queen_.

I stood there, my mouth gaping open. Maybe I could talk my way out of it? My mind worked slowly, the functions of my brain clicking together as I tried to form a believable excuse. But my train-of-thought came to an alarming halt when the Queen's jade eyes met my own. She looked at me with compassion, and perhaps something else that I couldn't quite read. Whatever it was, I suddenly felt my body grow warm and comfortable; I was no longer fearful or worried about what would happen. In the quietest voice she could muster, Queen Vasilissa uttered, "Go now."

Without hesitation, I felt my body turn around and walk the other direction. I climbed up the stairs to the commons and flopped down on a chair. My head felt woozy and light. What had just happened? I had heard of Morois being able to compel people into doing things, but surely the queen wouldn't do something like that. But it certainly had felt like compulsion...

I rubbed my temples and laid back in the plush arm chair. Why would the queen use compulsion on _me?_ It didn't make since. I thought back at what Dimitri and Rose were discussing in their room...The queen. Weren't they talking about the queen? Maybe Queen Vasilissa was just as guilty as I was for eavesdropping.

The hum from the television above the fireplace was starting to give me a headache. I closed my eyes as tight as I could and tried to drown out the sounds of whatever bad reality show was playing in the background.

"Are you trying to levitate?" Came a voice. When I opened my eyes, I saw Toby standing over me, a couple of textbooks clutched tightly in his hands.

I gave him a crooked smile, "No. Where have you been? The library?"

He placed down the books on the coffee table in front of me. The dilapidated covers were torn, but I could vaguely make out the titles. "The Hobbit and The Fellowship of the Ring? You're such a nerd!" I watched as Toby's face lit up with redness. That was probably his greatest weakness. Toby wasn't too good at hiding his feelings.

He quickly recalled the books, "I thought I'd give it a shot. I like books." I had obviously struck a chord with him so I added, "Nothing wrong with that. Makes you smarter, you know."

He scratched the back of his back of his head and sat down in the chair across from mine. I could tell he wanted to talk to me about something. He chewed his lip furiously, his dark eyes darted about the room. "What is it?" I asked at last.

"Nothing really..." He mumbled, but when his eyes met mine I immediately recognized the curiosity and concern in them. "I saw you running with Guardian Belikov. That's all...I was just wondering what that was all about."

I wasn't sure how to answer that. I wasn't even sure what that conversation had been about myself. I shrugged, "He just told me to keep working. Something about having potential to be good or whatever." I let the words roll of like they meant nothing, but as they came out of my mouth I realized just how true they were. The thought made my stomach hurt. I doubled over in pain. "I think I need to go to bed." I grumbled, "I don't feel too well."

Chivalrous Toby was up on his feet faster than I could process. He helped me out of the chair. "Are you alright, Vi? You look pale." He kept asking. I couldn't bring myself to give him a direct answer. Surely sickness wasn't a side effect of being compelled. As I got onto my feet, the world started spinning again. This time much more terribly than before. "I just need to get to my bed. I must be fatigued." My voice sounded weird in my own ears. Echoed and distant.

As I faded in and out of consciousness, my mind registered a few things: my legs buckling underneath me, Toby carrying me up the stairs, tucking me into my bed, and asking if he should call the nurse up. I remember the sound of Toby's breathing when he fell asleep on my papasan. And I remembered something too...The sound of footsteps, and the gentle touch of a fingers brushing my hair from my forehead...

But, no. That had to have been a dream.

How could have anyone snuck into my room undetected? And yet, there was that faint glimmer of reality as her cold fingers brushed against my fervent face, and her voice cut through the air like a knife. "Goodnight, Violet." Rose whispered, and in an instant she was gone.


End file.
